so it is kind of obama's fault. of course, the simpler explanation is not that obama planned all this. but the reason they have been taking moderate positions they have taken for years now, those just may be the positions. if the republican party can't agree to them or come up with popular ideas of their own, the problem may be within the republican party, not at 1600 pennsylvania avenue. barack obama is the president of the united states. he is a very powerful man, responsible for many things. but he is not why most republicans have taken a pledge, saying they will never raise a dollar in taxes no matter what the budget deficit looks like. he is not why they decided to put the whole u.s. economy at risk if they don't get their way on spending cuts. he is not why the white house partnered with gun legislation, no matter how small, is tantamount to taking away guns, he is not why extreme movements like extreme ideas like going back to a gold standard in the middle of an economic crisis have taken root on the right. t